Wednesday 7th August 2019

Novitec Tesla Model 3 revealed

What does Novitec do when there's no combustion engine? Everything else, of course...

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What does the future hold for car modifying? Perhaps a big question for this early on a Wednesday, but with the majority of cars leased - in theory prohibiting changes - and the rise of electric powertrains. - no turbo swaps, racier cams or louder exhausts there - it does make you wonder. For those who do own their own EV in future, the focus will surely be on cosmetic alterations - which Novitec is already busying itself with.

Having turned its hand to the S and X, Novitec now has a range of upgrades for the 3. Available for all models, Novitec reckons the work "refines" the smallest Tesla, with attention paid to the wheels, suspension and aerodynamics.

Note for example the carbon front and rear spoiler lips, diffuser and side rocker panels; it's claimed that the front spoiler tweaks reduce front axle lift and therefore improve stability, but it's hard to imagine the effect being much more than negligible. The carbon parts can be painted to match the body, contrast the body, left as carbon or - it would seem - finished however else the customer might like.

Suspension work comes in two forms, either a 30mm lowering spring kit with the standard dampers for both rear- and four-wheel drive cars, or a ride height adjustable kit that can drop a 3 by 40mm. That's sufficient, says Novitec, to reduce aerodynamic drag and cut power consumption over long journeys by up to seven per cent. Sounds more believable, at least, than a 40mm drop offering a "sporty-comfortable ride"....

Then there are the wheels, which are far cleverer than your regular set of big rims for a tuner car. Developed in conjunction with Vossen, these 'NV2' forged 21s improve ventilation to the brakes, each one unique to a specific corner of the car to ensure the "spokes always spin in the airstream in the aerodynamically optimal direction." Given how important regen is to electric vehicles, expect more wheels to be designed in this fashion going forward. Naturally, this being Novitec, there are 72 different colour choices, as well as brushed or polished finishes, to choose from for the Vossen wheels.

Combine all that with a slew of interior possibilities and the opportunity is there to create a drastically different Tesla. With UK cars on the way, it can't be long now before we see the first modified Model 3s in the country...

[Baddie]

Cosmetics

[GW65]

"Given how important regen is to electric vehicles, expect more wheels to be designed in this fashion going forward."

Erm, if it's using regen braking then there's no need for brake-cooling! (It's only under hard braking that the regular brakes will waste all that energy as heat...). There will come a day (in my best JFK voice) when regen works so well you won't need regular brakes (or should that be Doc Brown?)

[HardtopManual]

Exactly re brakes. PH: Uncritically regurgitating press releases matters.

[scottygib553]

I really don't like that paint finish

[SturdyHSV]

Somehow that interior just looks incredibly cheap. I'm sure it's very fancy or whatever, but it looks like something from the set of Equilibrium

[scottygib553]

SturdyHSV said:

Somehow that interior just looks incredibly cheap. I'm sure it's very fancy or whatever, but it looks like something from the set of Equilibrium

It's the steering wheel that ruins teslas for me. They look like they are just a big single piece of rubber. Model 3 interior (visually) a big step up from the S

[Limpet]

GW65 said:

"Given how important regen is to electric vehicles, expect more wheels to be designed in this fashion going forward."

Erm, if it's using regen braking then there's no need for brake-cooling! (It's only under hard braking that the regular brakes will waste all that energy as heat...). There will come a day (in my best JFK voice) when regen works so well you won't need regular brakes (or should that be Doc Brown?)

Agreed. I was in the States last year and got chatting to a guy who is on his second Model S. Did 120k in the first one and current one is on 90k. Never so much as replaced a set of pads.

He did say that this isn't without its problems though. Because the brakes don't get used much, they've had seizure issues in states with wetter climates and salted winter roads. I suspect UK cars might suffer similar issues.

It does illustrate just how much of that otherwise lost energy is being harvested though.

[sorrel]

REALLY needs a grille! Car has no character from the front. In the US they can buy fake grilles which make the car look a lot better.

http://www.tesla-grilles.com/wp-content/uploads/20...

[thelostboy]

scottygib553 said:

SturdyHSV said:

Somehow that interior just looks incredibly cheap. I'm sure it's very fancy or whatever, but it looks like something from the set of Equilibrium

It's the steering wheel that ruins teslas for me. They look like they are just a big single piece of rubber. Model 3 interior (visually) a big step up from the S

Been a passenger in many Teslas and they are very cheap inside. For the money, materials are really sub par - American, basically.

This one looks even worse. The only 'fancy' thing is your giant tablet.

[richthebike]

I'm normally Mr. Positive but theres no amount of aftermarket styling that going to make a current Tesla look like anything other than white goods. I'm fine with them looking like a tool to do a job by the way, that's what they are.

[BigGingerBob]

sorrel said:

REALLY needs a grille! Car has no character from the front. In the US they can buy fake grilles which make the car look a lot better.

http://www.tesla-grilles.com/wp-content/uploads/20...

I agree, the Model S went from being quite handsome to ugly when they removed the grille

[RobEB]

A Barry-boyed Model 3? Bewinged, bespoilered, go faster stripes, tacky st from Halfords stuck all over it..underbody lighting kit, boom box in the boot..

It's coming, folks, its coming...

[lufbramatt]

BigGingerBob said:

sorrel said:

REALLY needs a grille! Car has no character from the front. In the US they can buy fake grilles which make the car look a lot better.

http://www.tesla-grilles.com/wp-content/uploads/20...

I agree, the Model S went from being quite handsome to ugly when they removed the grille

I think I'd go for a sticker of a Disney Cars style mouth

[Addymk2]

RobEB said:

A Barry-boyed Model 3? Bewinged, bespoilered, go faster stripes, tacky st from Halfords stuck all over it..underbody lighting kit, boom box in the boot..

It's coming, folks, its coming...

Just imagine the size of the boom box you could run off that battery...

[anonymous-user]

A chav’d up Tesla, good grief, how awful.

[otolith]

sorrel said:

REALLY needs a grille! Car has no character from the front. In the US they can buy fake grilles which make the car look a lot better.

http://www.tesla-grilles.com/wp-content/uploads/20...

I think the point is that it really doesn't. We're just so used to seeing cars that really do that one without looks weird.

[Mr-B]

I don't think the wheel design is too bad Although the design purpose is totally marketing BS isn't it? With elec regen taking care of most of the slowing down process the brakes will never need cooling.

[Mark-C]

scottygib553 said:

SturdyHSV said:

Somehow that interior just looks incredibly cheap. I'm sure it's very fancy or whatever, but it looks like something from the set of Equilibrium

It's the steering wheel that ruins teslas for me. They look like they are just a big single piece of rubber. Model 3 interior (visually) a big step up from the S

It's the nailing an iPad to the dash that ruins Teslas interiors for me ... not that they are alone in this these days.

[MustardCutter]

The article suggests that with electric cars there won't be any drive train tuning / modding to be had. I think it's fair to say that not all motors and batteries are born equal and are ripe for swapping. There are a plethora of options (motors, gearing, batteries etc.) for RC cars, so I don't immediately see why there wouldn't be similar potential for full size cars, there just needs to be a big enough market for it that should come in time once/if EV adoption becomes the mainstream.

[RacerMike]

MustardCutter said:

The article suggests that with electric cars there won't be any drive train tuning / modding to be had. I think it's fair to say that not all motors and batteries are born equal and are ripe for swapping. There are a plethora of options (motors, gearing, batteries etc.) for RC cars, so I don't immediately see why there wouldn't be similar potential for full size cars, there just needs to be a big enough market for it that should come in time once/if EV adoption becomes the mainstream.

Fundamentally, there are a plethora of options, but the issue is that they'd need integrating at a system level to work. The whole battery, inverter and motor package is incredibly tightly integrated. They all communicate very detailed information to enable the system to decide how many amps can be pulled from the battery, how many can be converted by the inverter and how many can be accepted by the motor. Change any one of those things, and you'll have a car that simply doesn't drive.

The challenge for EV tuning is hacking the entire network architecture of the car, integrating that into a new controller, and then re-calibrating the Battery Control Module, Inverters and Motors to all work together. It's a massive task. It'd be like trying to convert a petrol engine into a diesel one without any of the original designs, using only the components you have in the vehicle.